Removable shutter construction with pivotal slats



p 1969 A. 1.. LA FONTAINE 3,468,058

REMOVABLE SHUTTER CONSTRUCTION WITH PIVOTAL SLATS Filed Dec. 4. 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1 Z a Z M a I 7/ /Z/ y r5 (/H v w a Z FIG. IA

INVENTOR, ALLYN L. LA FONTAINE ATTORNEYS FIG.2

Sept. 23, 1969 L FONTAINE 3,468,058

REMOVABLE SHUTTER CONSTRUCTION WITH PIVOTAL SLATS Filed Dec. 4. 1967 2 Sheets-Shet 2 FIG.5

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INVENTOR ALLYN L LA FONT/NE ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,468,058 REMOVABLE SHUTTER CONSTRUCTION WITH PIVOTAL SLATS Allyn L. La Fontaine, 2451 Camel Drive, Warren, Mich. 48092 Filed Dec. 4, 1967, Ser. No. 687,749 Int. Cl. E04f 7/08 US. C]. 49-75 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A plywood panel has a pair of rectangular openings for receiving a pair of removable, wooden, shutter inserts to form a door-wall. Each shutter insert is anchored in position by spring clips having one end attached to the panel and an opposite end formed with integral teeth for biting into the frame of the insert.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to the construction of wooden movable shutters and more specifically to a shutter insert which is removably mounted in a panel opening.

Description of the prior art Wooden shutters have become increasingly popular as a decorative element in residential and commercial structures. Conventionally, shutters are constructed by mounting a series of slats into either a window or a door panel formed of horizontal top and bottom rails interconnected by a pair of vertical side stiles. The slats are mounted in a. central opening in the panel in an overlapping relationship and have trunnion elements projecting from their ends which are received in aligned sockets formed in the side stiles.

There are several problems associated with the conventional shutter construction. Occasionally one of the slats is broken. The nature of conventional shutter construction requires that the panel and the entire shutter assembly be replaced. Secondly, the overall size of conventional shutters that can be fabricated is limited where the opening in the panel comprises a relatively large percentage of the total surface area of the panel. Still another problem is that the user occasionally desires to interchange the shutter assembly in a door panel with some other type of closure structure such as a clear or tinted plastic sheet in order to achieve a particular decorative effect. Conventional shutter construction does not provide for this interchangeability.

It is the broad purpose of the present invention to provide an improved shutter constructed with a removable shutter insert so that the shutter assembly can be replaced without replacing the entire panel and which enables a manufacturer to form shutter and panel assemblies of a much greater overall length than has been conventionally available.

SUMMARY The preferred embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to a doorwall comprising a wooden unitary, laminated plywood panel forming an integral rather than a fabricated panel for a shutter assembly. It has been found that by employing a plywood construction, that a panel of greater size can be formed as compared to conventional panel construction. This is because plywood has a greater strength even though a substantial central opening has been cut for mounting the shutter assembly.

A pair of rectangular openings are formed in the panel,

3,468,058 Patented Sept. 23, 1969 each of the openings adapted to receive a shutter insert. The shutter inserts are similar to one another and are each mounted in an opening and retained in place by a plurality of novel spring clips. The preferred mounting clips eliminate the necessity for cutting a perimetrical retaining ridge around the openings.

Each clip is formed of an elongated element of spring steel and has one end anchored to the one surface of the door panel and an opposite end formed into a pair of teeth which engage the frame of the insert. The clip has a curved portion adjacent its anchored end and an elbow in abutment with the door panel in such a manner that a pressure applied on the curved portion pivots the teeth in an are away from the insert. Similarly, the absence of a release force on the curved portion permits the teeth to bite into the insert frame.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved shutter construction by providing a panel with a removable shutter insert.

It is another object of the present invention to provide novel clip means for releasably joining a pair of wooden members.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will readily occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains upon reference to the following detailed description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The description refers to the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational, front view of a doorwall having shutter inserts built in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 1A is an elevational back view of the doorwall of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary view of one of the shutter inserts separated from the doorwall of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along lines 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged view taken along lines 4-4 of FIGURE 1A and shows the spring clip joining a side rail of the shutter assembly to the door panel;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 but showing the teeth of the clip separated from the side rail by the application of a release force on the curved section;

FIGURE 6 is a view of another embodiment of the preferred clip means;

FIGURE 7 is a view of still another embodiment of the clip means, but without the curved section for applying a release force; and

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the clip of FIG- URE 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Now referring to FIGURES 1 and 1A, a doorwall 10 is illustrated as comprising a pair of interconnected panels 12 each having a pair of similarly shaped rectangular openings 14 and 16. Shutter inserts generally indicated at 18 and 20 are mounted in the openings 14 and 16 respectively and retained in place by clip means 22.

As can best be seen in FIGURE 3, the panel 12 is formed of a single sheet of laminated plywood construction. It has been found that by employing a plywood panel, doorwalls eight feet and over in height and approximately nine inches in width can be satisfactorily manufactured with adequate strength for supporting the shutter inserts. Sufficient supporting strength is available even though the dimensions between the openings 14 and 16 and the side edges of the panel are only about 1% inches with a substantial portion of the panel removed.

The openings 14 and 16 are unridged, which is a neces sary feature of conventional shutter panels for retaining the shutter frame, with a smooth surface extending entirely around the perimeter of the openings 14 and 16 at right angles to the inner and outer planar surfaces of the door panel 12.

The shutter inserts 18 and 20 are similar to one another so that a detailed description of the shutter insert 18 will serve as a description of a typical shutter insert. Referring to FIGURES 2 and 3, the shutter insert 18 comprises a pair of laterally spaced side rails 24 and 26 joined by an upper rail 28 and a lower rail 30 to form a four-sided framework having a configuration complementary to the opening 14 in the panel.

The side rails 24 and 26 have horizontally aligned regularly spaced pairs of apertures 32 and 34 respectively.

The apertures 32 and 34 extend entirely through their respective side rails with each pair of apertures being aligned on a common axis. It will be noted that the width of the side rails 24 and 26 substantially corresponds to the thickness of the panel 12.

A wooden slat 36 is supported in each pair of apertures 32 and 34 for limited pivotal movement. Each slat 36 comprises an elongated wooden element consisting of a flat body section 38 with an integral pin 40 extending from each end. The pins 40 have a diameter accommodating the apertures 32 and 34 so that the slat can be pivoted. The overall tip-to-tip length, of each slat 36 substantially corresponds to the distance between the opposite sides of the opening 14. The length of each pin is longer than the thickness of its respective side rails. Preferably the pins 40 are received in the apertures 32 and 34 with a slightly snug fit so that when the slat is tilted to a particular position it is retained in that position.

It is to be understood that the frame consisting of the side rails 24 and 26, the upper and lower rails 28 and 30 and the slats 36 can be inserted or removed as a unit from the opening 14 in the panel 12.

An elongated wooden center guide 42 is mounted by interconnected staple means 44 to the midsection of each of the slats 36 and provides means for raising and lowering the slats as a unit.

Now referring to FIGURES 4 and 8 the preferred clip 22 is formed of an elongated, flat strip of spring steel and has one end 45 anchored to the panel 12 by a threaded fastener 46. The clip 22 has a curved section 48 adjacent the anchored end 45 which merges into an elbow 50 adjacent the opening 14. The clip extends from the elbow 50 into a bent section 52 and terminates in a pair of integral teeth 54.

As can best be seen in FIGURES 4 and 5, the elbow 50 is mounted slightly spaced from opening 14 with the teeth 54 biting into the wooden side rail 24. The clip 22 is shaped so that the teeth 14 can pivot about the elbow 50. When a release force is applied on the curved section 48 toward the panel 12, the curved section 48 flexes so that the elbow 50 moves toward the opening 14 while pivoting the bent section 52 in an are such that the teeth 54 disengage from the wooden rail 24 and swing about the elbow 50. When the release force is removed from the curved section 48, the bent section 52 pivots around the elbow 50 so that the teeth again bite into the rail 24. It is to be noted that the teeth 54 are bent at an acute angle with respect to the bent section 52 which helps to increase their bite into the wood.

Another clip 56 is shown in FIGURE 6 for retaining the rail 24 in abutment with the opening 14 of the panel 12. The clip 56 has an anchored section 58 connected to a curved section 60 which is joined by an elbow 62 to a bent section 64. The bent section 64 terminates in a pair of inwardly directed teeth 66. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 4 and except that the anchored section 58 is not apertured to receive a threaded fastener but instead terminates in a pair of inwardly bent teeth 68 which bite into the plywood panel 12.

Still another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGURE 7 in the form of a clip 70 formed of a fiat spring steel element having an anchored end 72 mounted by a threaded fastener 74 to the panel 12 and extending toward a right angle bend 76. The right angle bend 76 terminates in a pair of integral teeth 78 which bite into the wooden rail 24. In this form of the invention, the absence of a curved release section for moving the teeth 78 away from the anchored end requires that the teeth 78 be initially engaged with the rail 24 and then the anchored end attached by the threaded fastener 74 to the panel 12. This form of the invention requires that the threaded fastener 74 be separated from the clip 70 and the panel 12 in order to separate the rail 24 from the opening 14. The embodiment shown in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 enable the user by applying a finger-actuated release force -on the curved section to disengage the clip from the rail 24 so that the shutter insert can be removed from the opening 14 for either repair, replacement, or cleaning.

It is to be understood that although I have described several embodiments of my invention, that various changes and revisions can be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A clip suited for connecting a second wooden member to a first wooden member, comprising a one-piece, elongated element formed of resilient material, said element having: a first end suited for attachment to the first member; its opposite, second end engageable with the second member; a curved section between its ends having a concave side facing toward one lateral side with respect to its longitudinal axis; an elbow being formed of a reverse bend between the curved section and the second end of the element such that by attaching the first end of the element to the first member, with the concave side of the curved section facing the first member, the elbow is moved across the surface of the first member and away from the first end in a motion in which the second end is moved away from the first member in an are about the elbow as the curved section is pressed toward the first member, and the elbow returns toward the first end to move the second end toward the first member when the curved section is released so that the second member can be positioned between the second end of the clip and the first member when the curved section is pressed, and then retained in its position with respect to the first member by releasing the curved section.

2. A clip as defined in claim 1, in which the second end of the clip is formed with teeth suited for biting into wood.

3. A clip as defined in claim 1, in which the first end is suited for receiving a fastener element.

4. A clip as defined in claim 1, in which the first end of the clip is formed with teeth engageable with the wooden first member to anchor the clip against motion with respect to the first member as the curved section is being pressed.

5. A clip as defined in claim 1, in which the element is formed of a relatively fiat section of material with its first end and the elbow formed in substantially a common plane, and the element has a bend between the elbow and its second end formed such that the second end is engageable with a side of the second member supported at right angles with respect to the side of the first member to which the first end of the clip is attached.

6. A wooden shutter structure, comprising:

(a) a wooden panel having a pair of opposed, planar sides, and an opening between the sides;

(b) a wooden frame removably mounted in the opening such that sides of theframe are adjacent the sides of the opening, the frame being suited for supporting closure means;

(0) an elongated clip formed of a single section of resilient material, said clip having:

(1) a first end attached to one side of the panel,

adjacent the opening;

(2) its opposite, second end having teeth engageable with the frame to prevent removal of the frame from the opening;

(3) a curved section between its ends with a concave side facing the panel;

(4) an elbow between the curved section and the second end of the clip with a convex side supported adjacent the panel, the elbow being formed adjacent the curved section to move across the surface of the panel in a motion in which the teeth move away from the frame as the curved section is pressed toward the panel by a release effort, and to return toward the first end of the clip in a motion in which the teeth move toward the frame as the release effort is removed from the curved section.

7. The invention as defined in claim 6, in which the first end of the clip has teeth formed to be penetrated into the panel to attach the clip to the panel, and the second end of the clip has teeth formed to be penetrated into the frame.

8. The invention as defined in claim 6, in which the References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 461,007 10/ 1891 Zeller 49-75 X 708,618 9/ 1902 Briggs 49-88 1,807,100 5/1931 Gratf et a1. 1,914,571 6/1933 Jones. 2,559,054 7/1951 Walker.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner P. C. KANNAN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

